Dome structure and method for building the same

ABSTRACT

A dome structure made of superposed concentric rings composed of adjacent segments. The superposed segments are interconnected by extended flanges forming hooks having a substantially quadrilateral section. The adjacent segments are joined together with a plate engaging apertures or projections of the segments.

Dec. 23, 1969 G. P. mum 3,485,000

DOME STRUCTURE AND METHOD FDR BUILDING THE SAME Filed Dec. 1, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR George: P. FIQUET A TTORNEY Dec. 23, 1969 P. FIQUET 3,485,000

DOME STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR BUILDING THE SAME Filed D90. 1, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR George: P. FIQUET A TTORNE Y Dec. 23, 1969 G- P. FIQUET 3,485,000

DOME STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR BUILDING THE SAME Filed Dec. 1, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l ll ll \i -w I N VEN TOR George P. FIQUET United States Patent US. CI. 5280 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dome structure made of superposed concentric rings composed of adjacent segments. The superposed segments are interconnected by extended flanges forming hooks hav ing a substantially quadrilateral section. The adjacent ice form a connection having a substantially quadrilateral section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In drawings which illustrate embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 1 shows a dome structure according to the invention,

FIGURE 2 shows a small section of a part of the dome structure,

FIGURE 3 shows an interconnecting arrangement between two segments of a ring member, along section line segments are joined together with a plate engaging apertures or projections of the segments.

The present invention relates to a dome structure and a method for building dome structures.

The invention relates in particular to a shell for dome structures which is made by the superimposition of a large number of concentric ring members of gradually smaller diameter, each ring being interlocked with the one above and the one below. Considering that the concentric ring members are of gradually smaller diameter, it is preferred to have the top of the dome structure made by a capping disc to cover the top of the dome structure.

In order to have a light structure the ring members are made of extruded sections of aluminum or other light metals, of fiberglass or other suitable plastics.

The rings are made of segments having a length suitable for being easily transported. Each segment has two horizontal parallel edges forming a male and female connection and adapted to be connected one over the other. Each horizontal adjacent segment are connected together by a jointing yoke so as not to move away from each other and in order to stop up the chinks.

Each ring is continuously connected to the one below and the one above up to a capping disc. The disc may be light transmitting or opaque roof or constitute an air conditioning unit.

An object of the invention consists of a building structure being light in weight and very economical.

A further object of the invention is to have a permanent building structure which is well protected against the weather, incombustible and of a very low maintenance.

A still further object of the invention consists in obtaining building structures which have a great variety of shapes and uses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The dome structure according to the invention comprises a plurality of superposed concentric ring members of gradually smaller diameter, each ring being composed of adjacent segments, joining means for connecting each segment with the adjacent segment, and hooking means between two superposed segments comprising projecting flanges on opposite edges of the superposed segments to IIIIII of FIG. 4,

FIGURE 4 shows a junction between two segments as seen along" line IV-IV of FIG. 3,

FIGURE 5 shows a diflerent embodiment of an interconnecting arrangement between two segments,

FIGURE 6 shows an exploded view of two adjacent segments with a jointing yoke.

FIGURE 7 shows two adjacent segments assembled with a jointing yoke coresponding to section line VII-VII of FIG. 5,

FIGURE 8 is an exploded view of two adjacent segments and a joining segment,

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view of a segment connected to a joining segment and a superposed segment,

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 9,

FIGURE 11 is a magnified view of the lower part of two adjacent segments,

FIGURE 12 is a schematic view of a spiral assembly of adjacent segments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGURE 1 shows a general view of an example of a general building structure of a dome 10 according to the invention. The dome structure consists of a plurality of ring members 11 which are superimposed, concentric and of gradually smaller diameter. In the examples shown in FIGURE 1, the dome structure is provided with a plurality of windows 12 and a door opening 13.

FIGURE 2 provides an illustration for, interlocking arrangements for superimposed rings. According to the examples provided herein, the rings will be made of a plurality of segments 14. The rings need to be subdivided in segments in order to be interlocked. Large ring members could be mounted one over the other without being segmented if provided with suitable interlocking means or if the rings would be welded to each other.

The interlocking arrangement is particularly well shown in FIGURE 3 wherein the segment 14 has an upper edge formed by an L-shaped projection 15 consisting of a vertical rib member 16 and a horizontal rib member 17. The lower edge of the segment is formed. by a lateral projection 18. The end portion of the L-shaped projection 15 forms a hook 29 which locks with the end portion of the lateral projection 18 when the upper segment is rotated in the direction of the arrow A as shown in FIG- URE 3. The lower edge of the segment has an extension 19 which is adapted to grip through a pair of engaging teeth 20 and 21. The upper edge of the segment has an extension 22. The arrangement shown in FIGURE 3 illustrates a first embodiment for connecting an upper and a lower segment. In order to stop the chinks, a junction key 23 is placed at the junction of two adjacent segments 14 as shown particularly in FIGURE 4. A segment 14 is shown in dotted lines with two arrows B representing the direction for contacting two adjacent segments after the introduction of the junction key 23 has been inserted. As shown in FIGURE 3, the junction key 23 follows substantially the shape of the segment 14 and the two extensions 19 and 22. The key 23 follows the upper extension 22 and hooks over its top portion 24. Over the top portion 24, the key 23 forms a support for the lateral projection 18. Accordingly the interlocking arrangement represented in FIGURE 3, constitute a solid connection which is easily mounted and disassembled.

The lower end of the dome or the lower ring is anchored on a cement or steel base through a bracket 25 which is represented in FIGURE 2. The lower ring 14 of the dome structure rests on the bracket 25 by the lateral portion 18 and the extension 19 over the corner of the bracket 25. A connection leg 26 is bolted to fix the segment 14 over the bracket 25, the said leg being adapted to take up the expansion of the dome.

A different embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURES to 7 wherein the segment 14 has a lower lateral projection 28 and an upper L-shaped projection 35 which consists of a vertical rib member 36 and a horizontal rib member 37. Furthermore, the lower part of the segment 14 has a lower extension 39 and an upper extension 38. The upper part of the vertical rib 36 has a hook 40 which grips the end of the lateral projection 28 when two segments are interlocked, the upper and the lower extensions coming face to face as shown in FIGURE 5 with a resilient caulking 41 in between the two extensions. The resilient caulking may be retained to the extensions by a tooth 42 and a recess 49.

In order to retain two adjacent segments together, a jointing yoke is used to fix the segments together. The yoke 43 is generally formed by a straight bar 44 having two teeth 45 and 46 at both ends of the bar, the said teeth being adapted to engage in the apertures 47 and 48 located in the horizontal rib members 37 at the ends of the segments. When an upper and a lower segment have been interlocked as shown in FIGURE 5 in the direction of the arrow D, the upper segment is pushed towards the adjacent one such as indicated by the arrow E shown in FIGURE 6. When the two adjacent segments are contacting each other the teeth 45 and 46 fall into the apertures 47 and 48 and locks the two segments together.

The resilient caulking 41 may be a soft rubber or plastic which may change its shape when pressed together and be engaged by teeth 42 or be projected into recess 49.

In order to improve the insulating properties of the dome structure, slabs 50 of insulating material are mounted along the segment 14. The slabs have a height substantially equal to the height of a segment and are interconnected by the combination of recesses 51 and tangs 52. The slabs are made of resilient material which enables to force them in position as represented in FIG. 2. They are also made of a material which has good insulating properties. Slabs of foam rubber are particularly well adapted for the purpose.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 8 11 wherein segments 60 are provided at the upper end with a C-sha-ped hook 62 and at the lower end with two flanges 64 and 66. The two flanges 64 and 66 project at substantially 90 from the surface of the seg ment wherein the upper edge 64 is provided with a groove 68 to grip the teeth 70 of the C-shaped hook 62. The lower edge 72 of the segment 60 projects beyond the two flanges 64 and 66 and is used as a supporting surface for the projection 74 of the C-shaped hook 62. This gripping connection is particularly illustrated at the lower end of the sectional view of FIG. 9 in a substantially quadrilateral representation,

In order to join two adjacent segments of the above described type, a joining segment 76 is used. The joining segment 76 has an upper part made in the form of a C-shaped member 78 substantially similar to the member 62 but adapted to grip the latter as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 8. In order to install the joining segment 76 at the intersection of two contacting segments 60, a portion of the flange 64 located at the end of the segments must be removed. Furthermore, the flange 66 is provided with a notch 79 near the edge of the segment which leaves a tongue 80 near the edge of the flange 66.

The lower end of the joining segment 76 is provided with a flange 64a and a U-shaped recess 66a. When the joining segment 76 is mounted over two adjoining segments, the flange 64a constitutes the extension of the flanges 64 of the adjacent segments and the U-shaped recess 66a covers the notches 79 and the tongue 80 passes through the mortise 82. The two adjacent joining segments are particularly held together by the tongues 80 locked into the mortise 82.

In order to improve the protection against the weather conditions, a transversal groove 84 is provided at the intersection of two segments 60 along the edge thereof and is filled with a sealing material. In order to provide a similar protection between two superposed segments, a longitudinal filled groove 86 with sealing material is foreseen along the upper part of the lower edge 72 on the face which comes in contact with the super-imposed segment. The groove 86 intersects the groove 84 and constitutes an improved means for preventing the wind and the water to penetrate inside the structure.

The adjacent segments may, as an alternative assembly, be joined in a spiral arrangement as shown in FIG. 12. Consecutive segments such as 90, 90a, 90b and 900 may be connected by joining means as described above.

I claim:

1. A dome structure comprising:

a plurality of superposed edge-overlapping concentric ring members of gradually smaller diameter, each ring being composed of adjacent members,

joining means for connecting each segment with the adjacent segment, and

hooking means comprising two parallel flanges substantially perpendicular to one edge. of one segment and a C-shaped hook along the opposite edge so that the said two parallel flanges grip the C-shaped hook of a superposed segment, a portion of one of the two parallel flanges is cut out near the junction of two adjacent segments and the other flange of the said two parallel flanges is provided with a notch forming a tongue near the edge thereof, a joining segment mounted over the intersection of two adjacent segments, the said joining segment comprising at one end a C-shaped portion engaging the C-shaped hook of two adjacent segments, and at the other end of said joining segment, a U-shaped recess provided with a mortise, the said U-shaped recess fitting over the said second flange and the mortise receiving the tongue formed by the notch.

2. A dome as recited in claim 1, wherein a junction key is mounted inside said overlapping edges between adjacent members for eliminating chinks between the superposed segments.

3. A dome structure as recited in claim 1, comprising sealing means between the overlapping edges of two superposed segments.

4. A dome structure as recited in claim 1, wherein each segment is made of extruded material.

5. A dome structure as recited in claim 1, wherein slabs of insulating material are mounted inside each ring.

6. A dome structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the contacting edge of two adjacent segments include a transversal groove, the said groove containing a sealing material.

7. A dome structure as recite in claim 1, wherein a 5 6 surface along the edge of a segment covered by a surface 2,302,949 11/1942 Palmer 52-542 along the edge of a superposed segment includes a longi- 3,128,851 4/ 1964 Deridder 52588 tudinal groove filled with a weather sealing material. 3,3 65,855 1/ 1968 Verrnette 52-80 8. A dome structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said longitudinal groove communicates with a second groove 5 FOREIGN PATENTS in angular relation therewith. 2 1 4 19 4 Austra1ia R f d 1,032,997 6/1966 Great Britain.

e 27,793 6/1884 Germany. UNITED STATES PATENTS 276,956 11/1951 Switzerland.

55 4/1896 Eckles 52 5 4 10 387,915 5/1965 Switzerlandfig? 1 gijjji HENRY c. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner 1,772,694 8/1930 White 52--588 2,112,348 3/1938 Ratten 52--81 2,264,546 12/1941 Ochs 52-542 15 52-530, 588 

